For N.J. bridal salon, discrimination is bad business

John Munson/The Star-LedgerA wedding gown is pictured in this Star-Ledger file photo. A New Jersey woman used social media to share her story after a bridal salon in Somers Point refused to serve her because she is marrying a woman.

Alix Genter of Highland Park found the bridal gown of her dreams at Here Comes the Bride, a bridal shop in Somers Point. But the experience was less than heavenly. Her dream gown was snatched away. Not by a crazed bride-zilla who wanted the gown for herself. By the shop owner — who discovered the bride-to-be is gay. The owner told Genter she didn’t want to be part of anything “illegal” and said she brought shame to her family.

Here’s what’s illegal in New Jersey: discriminating against people based on their relationship in a domestic partnership or civil union. Genter is planning a civil union ceremony in New Jersey and a formal wedding in New York, where it has been legal for gay couples to marry since July.

It’s a shame that New Jersey has failed to follow New York’s lead and grant gays the right to wed. Moreover, Steven Goldstein of Garden State Equality said the shop owner’s reaction reveals the failure of New Jersey’s civil union law.

“It’s a prime example of how civil unions are neither understood, respected or accepted,” he said. “This owner believes this relationship was illegal because they’re not married.”

Genter, a Ph.D. candidate in history at Rutgers, happens to have the support of a loving family. She was devastated by the shop owner’s hateful spiel and posted her story on the business review website Yelp. Since then, people across the country have been giving Here Comes the Bride a big thumbs down.

The shop owner may have to change the store’s name to “There Goes the Money.”